


❝right in front of you❞ || tony dinozzo

by HaruPotter15



Category: NCIS
Genre: AU, Boys In Love, Boys' Love, Crimes & Criminals, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Mystery, Pet Names, Romance, Secrets, Some Humor, Some Plot, Stealing, Thief, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Top Anthony DiNozzo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-04-07
Packaged: 2019-11-08 19:46:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17987486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HaruPotter15/pseuds/HaruPotter15
Summary: ((MXM//BXB)) Luke has no last name. He grew up in an orphanage, never knew his parents and mostly kept to himself. Now, at the age of 22, Luke lives alone in a crappy, dump of an apartment over a corner store and steals for a living. He's pretty good at it too.Until, NCIS somehow get a hold of him.And it's not pretty.But Dinozzo is.





	1. Chapter 1

 

**Chapter One:**   _❝Want to shake both of my hands, Sherlock?❞_

Luke taps his fingers against the metal table in an odd rythmatic beat. The cuffs around his wrists clink against the table every so often. He taps once. Waits. Taps again. And repeats. It oddly sounds like the drip drop of a water tap. His greyish-blue eyes wander around the room he's in. It's like a prison cell. A bare bulb hangs from the ceiling and the plastic chair underneath his ass could have been stolen from an inner-city pre-school. There's a tinted window right opposite him, with investigators on the other side no doubt. Luke holds in a snort. Did they expect for him to cave in under the waiting pressure? He's been in here for five hours. He can manage days on no end. He idly wonders if it's all some psychological test to see if he's freaked out.

He's not.

Luke yawns loudly and blinks slowly. He's bored. He shifts his gaze from the tinted window and cranes his head back in a way that he can glance at the camera placed high in the corner behind him. The camera zooms in and out on him. Probably taking another picture.

With a roll of his eyes, Luke places his legs on the edge of the metal table and crosses his converse cladded feet at his ankles. He shifts in his seat to get comfortable and closes his eyes. If he's going to wait, he might as well catch up on some much needed sleep.

\----

Abby tinkers away at her computer, teeth biting into her bottom lip as her dark eyes run across the words on her monitor in a flurry. There's music playing in the background and she bobs her head up and down matching the beat.

The glass doors to the lab slide open and Gibbs walks in, looking for clues no doubt.

Abby turns around with a large grin. “Gibbs!” She exclaims, excitement clear in her voice.

Gibbs smiles, if only lightly. “You got anything Abbs?” He questions as he takes a stand beside her, a large Coke in his hand.

Abby motions to the table beside them with dozens of different possible weapons on them. “Ducky said it was blunt force trauma and it was” the lab girl pauses and her grin drops. “The thing is, there were no prints left anywhere. Not even on the murder weapon, which ever one of these ones it was. Every weapon here was cleaned thoroughly with some weird substance” She exclaims as she clasps her hands together in front of her chest.

Gibbs raises one single eyebrow. “And?” He presses.

“Well” Abby begins, “I made a simulation of our murder” She says as she moves back to her computer. Gibbs moves with her. Abby hovers her mouse over her screen and clicks over a few links. The screen switches to a play for play of their murder case. It shows a plain figure getting their skull smashed by a baseball bat. Abby pauses the simulation and zooms forward. “The thing is” she voices, grabbing at the Coke in Gibbs’s hand. “The Colonel did get his skull cracked open” she sips at her drink and points at the plain figures zoomed in head. “Just not with the first blow” she explains. “He was hit once and then hit again”.

Gibbs hums. “The killer was trying to make sure the Colonel didn't have a chance at survival”.

Abby shrugs her shoulders. “Pretty much” she says.

Gibbs leans in to kiss Abby on the cheek like he usually does, but he gets interrupted by an obnoxious beep from said girls computer.

They both turn to look back at the monitor.

Abby frowns and clicks her mouse over her new notification.

Her eyes take in the new information and her mouth opens to form words but no sound comes out.

The large Coke in her hand suddenly slips out her grasp and falls to the ground.

\----

Gibbs opens the door to the interrogation room and closes it behind him with a quiet ‘thud’. His blue eyes zero in on the sleeping male sat at the metal table. He's young, pale in the sense where he looks like he hasn't spent a lot of time outside and his black hair is a mess around his face. He's leaning his head into his arm at an odd angle and his feet are held up on the edge of the table.

Gibbs quietly walks forward and drops the file in his hands onto the table a little too harshly.

The sleeping male flutters his eyes open, they're a weird mix of greyish-blue. They look at lot like Gibbs’s own eyes. He clenches his jaw tight.

Gibbs drags the chair from corner over to the table and takes a seat. He pulls out a pen from his jacket and pushes the link at the top. It makes a loud ‘click’ sound in the silence of the interrogation room. He eyes the male across him and watches as he rubs his knuckles into his eyes and swings his legs back down under the table.

“Name” Gibbs asserts more than asks.

“Luke” the young male mutters quietly as he crosses his arms across the table and leans his chin into them. He blinks slowly, as if he's clearing the haze in his eyes.

“No surname?” Gibbs asks, flipping the file on the table open. It's filled with empty sheets and there are a few pictures lodged in the back. Gibbs scribbles Luke’s name at the top of the first empty page he flips to.

“No” Luke answers flatly, shifting slightly as his cuffs clink against the metal table.

“Do you know why you're here?” Gibbs gazes at Luke with an unreadable expression.

“You think I killed someone” Luke mumbles, tilting his head to the side as he presses his cheek against his arms. He yawns, not in a tired way, but more of in a bored way.

Gibbs places his pen down and shuffles through the file. He pulls out several different pictures of brutally murdered men and places them side by side in front of Luke. He points to the last one.

“This is Colonel Steven Briggs” He says.

Luke gazes at each picture separately. All the victims are laying in a pool of their own blood, skulls cracked open and lips stitched closed with black or white thread. They're all men dressed in navy uniforms. Luke stares at the last picture, the one of Colonel Briggs. It looks no different than the others, at least to anyone who didn't pay attention to every tiny detail.

Luke raises his head and shifts his gaze across the pictures again.

“Huh” He breathes out.

Gibbs raises an eyebrow in silent question, but Luke starts shuffling the pictures around. Colonel Briggs stays at the end, but the other pictures get swapped.

“This one's really sloppy” Luke says tapping his fingers at the picture he's pulled to the front of the row. It's of a navy soldier. “Definitely the first victim” He mutters.

It's silent for a small moment.

Luke lifts his gaze up from the pictures to Gibbs who's staring at him with an odd expression.

“And you know this how?” The older of the two folds his arms across the table.

“Uh” Luke lamely fumbles. “I think it's pretty obvious, I mean-” He taps the first picture again, “this one has his lips stitched together with black thread, that and the hit on his head is on the left side instead of the right like all the others” He explains.

“The second one isn't much better” He taps the second picture, cuffs clinking. “The murderer hit the victim too hard, there's a lot more blood around the victim here than there is anywhere else” Luke pauses as Gibbs leans his chin into the palm of his hand, something akin to amusement flittering in his blue orbs.

“Go on” Gibbs urges.

Luke ducks his head. “The murderer panicked” He continues. He taps the third picture, “They've gotten better here, there's not a lot of blood and they've switched from black thread to medical wire”. He taps the last picture, the one of Colonel Briggs. “They're learning” Luke murmurs, raising his gaze back to match Gibbs’s.

Sighing loudly through his nose, Gibbs flips the file on the table back to the page where he had started writing. He grabs his pen. “How old are you?” He asks.

Luke blinks. “I stopped counting after six, why?”

Gibbs huffs a laugh. “We took your fingerprints and found no matches” He flickers his gaze to the camera behind Luke and then back to the black haired male. “You also don't know your social security number or your last name” He states. “The sample of blood we gained from you… didn't match anyone in our database”.

Luke tilts his head in a way that looks like he's assessing Gibbs.

Luke had been at the wrong place at the wrong time. He had, obviously ran, because even if he was no murderer he was still a thief. Colonel Briggs was found dead behind a dumpster in an alleyway not far from where Luke lived, when Luke stumbled upon the body the NCIS had as well. It was a man with dark brown hair and a foreign looking woman.

Panicking, Luke had muttered a _“shit”_ under his breath, turned on his heels and started running. The woman went after him and followed him down random passages of the alleyway. At one point, Luke threw caution into the wind and starting climbing up a sturdy pipe until he reached the rooftop of some old building, the woman with the NCIS jacket hot on his heels.

He vividly remembers the way she had screamed at him to stop and Luke had told her to stuff it right before he had jumped from one rooftop onto a lower one and simply summersaulted down. He had glanced back at the woman as she stared at him slightly flabbergasted and then she had jumped right after him.

Luke also remembers the way his arm got caught on the edge of another pipe he slid down. It had cut a thin but long streak across the back of his arm and left a residue of his blood behind.

When he reached the bottom, his black converse had slammed against the ground and the tip of a gun had been pressed to his back. Luke had lifted his gaze high up and sighed deeply. The woman was still on the rooftop and gazed down at him with a smirk as she waved her hand down at him cheerfully over the edge.

The person behind his back was another man. Not the first one he had seen, this one was a lot skinnier. He had claped the cuffs around his wrists behind his back and Luke had let him.

And that's how he got where he currently was.

He opens his mouth, “I was raised in an orphanage” he says quietly. “The only thing I do know is my first name” Luke replies with honesty.

He then smiles. “And my age, I'm 22”.

Gibbs nods his head and scribbles that down underneath the young males name.

“Anything else you know?” He questions, just to make sure.

Luke’s smile turns into a quip of his lips. “Well” he starts off, “I do know that you have three agents on the other side standing very close to the window” He smirks. “The light bouncing off the tint moves every so often in three different places” Luke explains with a shrug of his shoulders.

He leans his chin into the palms of his hands. “I also know you're divorced” He says, greyish-blue eyes flickering to the tan line on Gibbs’s left ring finger. “And that you probably used to shoot long distance” He pauses as he points at the numerous crinkles beside Gibbs’s eyes. “Those usually appear after a year or so of straining your eyes and since you don't seem to own a pair of glasses, the next thing I can think off is snipping or something of the sort”.

Luke exhales loudly, “And every time I look in the cameras direction it takes a picture of me”.

Gibbs stares, the metaphorical gears behind his eyes turning. “You're good” He says.

He scribbles something into the file.

“Did you kill them?” He asks straight out.

“No” Luke deadpans, not missing a beat.

“Alright” Gibbs says as he gathers the victims pictures. He closes the file and places the pictures at the top, separating the two clearly.

“Where do you live?”

Luke raises one eyebrow. “Uh” He fumbles again, “I live above a Korean corner store” He admits. He's not ashamed, he's just… Confused at the question.

“Do you have a job?” Gibbs fires another question as he grips the pictures and file all in one hand.

Luke pauses.

“Do I have to answer that question?” He inquires.

Gibbs laughs good naturedly.

Standing to his feet, Gibbs extends a hand. “I’m special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs” He introduces himself. Luke shakes his hand, albeit a little awkwardly.

“Get up” Gibbs turns with a smile, “We're leaving” he says as he opens the door and leaves.

Luke stares after him dumbfounded.

He flickers his gaze from the door to the tinted window and then back. Shrugging his shoulders, wrists still cuffed, Luke follows Gibbs’s lead.

\----

The bullpen looks normal. It's filled with dozens of desks and a few agents. The bright lights reflect upon Luke’s black hair and it shines red in random places. He glances at his surroundings as he walks towards Gibbs.

“Soooo…” Luke trails off as he stops a few steps away from Gibbs.

“This is Special Agent Timothy McGee” Gibbs motions to behind Luke and Luke turns around with a raised brow. It was the man who had cuffed him, along with the woman who had chased after him and another man, the one who had probably stayed behind with the dead body. 

McGee holds out his hand for a shake - his eyes are a nice shade of hazel - and Luke responds.

“Agent Ziva David” Gibbs continues.

The woman smiles. It's friendly, but a little strained as if there are other thoughts corrupting her mind. “You pulled of a crazy stunt” Agent Ziva says as she holds out her hand. She's pretty with long brown hair and dark brown eyes.

Luke huffs. “You're the crazy one for jumping after me” He quips as he shakes her hand.

“And Special Agent Anthony Dinozzo” Gibbs finishes.

Agent Dinozzo holds out both his hands with a large grin. He's dark haired and has deep green eyes. He looks handsome, in a cunning way. “Want to shake both of my hands, Sherlock?” He teases.

Luke smiles. He grabs a hold of Dinozzo’s hands and shakes them in one swift movement. In an instant the cuffs around Luke’s hands transfer onto Dinozzo’s.

“Thanks” Luke laughs lightly.

The offending Agent stares down at him with a confused look. His face scrunches up as he raises his now bound wrists up to his eye level.

Agent David laughs out loud. “He's got you there, Tony” She smiles widely.

Luke grins as he turns around to find Gibbs hiding a smile behind a coffee cup.

Dinozzo looks towards McGee. “How'd he do that?” He mutters lowly. McGee sends the other male a deadpan look. “I think it would be a little too complicated for you to understand, Tony”

••••

**_2658 words//unedited_ **

**_I literally wrote this in the spur of the moment. Also, um, why aren't there any Tony Dinozzo x male oc or reader stories out there? Sheesh._ **

**_NCIS is awesome, c'mon people!_ **

**_Anyways, idk what I'm doing, cause I have like 3 other books I'm writing and like 2 more books in my drafts. It's complicated._ **

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

**_Chapter Two:_ ** _❝Alright, pretty boy❞_

Luke climbs out of the car after Gibbs. Its night-time, the sky is dark and the lampposts near them are shining sharply. Apparently he had spent a lot of time at NCIS. Luke closes the door of the car behind him and stuffs his hands into the pockets of his black, zip up hoodie. He inhales and exhales into the cold night air, a white whisp of air flows out of his lips and around his face. He taps the top of his converse against the pavement as he gazes at his surroundings.

They're out in the open. Tall, lean buildings tower over them from the right and a park sits at their left. A road runs in between the two, it's near empty safe for a few police cars and an NCIS van. Luke turns his head left and right. Dinozzo and David come out of another car and McGee follows out after them.

There's an eerie silence hanging in the air.

When Gibbs starts walking, Luke ducks his head and scurries after him. He knows for a fact he's not supposed to be here, he's a civilian and there's obviously been another murder.

Gibbs takes the main route into the park and Luke keeps as close to him as he can. A few other Agents and Police Officers send him wary looks but Luke keeps his head down. The rest of team Gibbs follows behind them, muttering underneath their breathes.

The deeper they get into the park, the darker it becomes. The soil beneath Luke’s shoes is wet and dry at the same time, thick trees loom over him dangerously and stray bushes keep him on the same path. He can barely see in front of him. Something scurries from between a bush and up a tree, Luke’s hand snaps out and catches onto someone's arm.

There's a pause and then a loud, startling laugh.

“Are you scared of the dark, Luke?” Agent Dinozzo pauses in his steps and Luke pouts doing the same. The way his name effortlessly rolls off of Dinozzo’s tongue sounds nice, but the rest had been filled with amusement.

“Would it be weird if I said yes?” Luke mutters, fingers curled around Dinozzo’s arm. Gibbs is already gone into the dark and McGee breezes past them with a frown in Dinozzo’s direction.

David, on the other hand, clasps a hand onto Luke’s shoulder. “Don't listen to anything he has to say, Luke” She says, pulling him into her side. “It's natural to be afraid of the dark” she smiles down at him and Luke frees his grip on Dinozzo’s arm. “Ok” He grins and lets David manoover him down the path.

Dinozzo follows after them rolling his eyes. He absentmindedly rubs his hand over where Luke had touched him.

McGee waves them over and Ziva along with Luke follow him down a more narrow path. The bushes scrape their arms and legs and they push through. Luke stumbles and Ziva catches him by his elbow. Dinozzo ushers after them, muttering under his breath about how much he hates nature as he slaps away a tree branch in his way.

Someone lights a flashlight their way. Luke squints his greyish-blue eyes, McGee throws an arm over his face and walks forward blindly while Ziva and Dinozzo walk normally as if unfazed.

There's a body. It's sat at the stump of a random tree. It's a male. He's dressed in a navy uniform, he's blonde, his eyes are closed and his skull is cracked from the right side. His lips are stitched closed with medical wire. There's a copious amount of blood leaking from the side of his bruised face, down across his right shoulder and down to the grass underneath him.

Gibbs stands above him with a flashlight in his hand. Two other men crouch beside the dead man, with one with a high definition camera and another is slowly tilting the Navy soldiers head to the side. They're medical examiners.

“Looks like it's the same killer” Dinozzo mutters as he stops a few steps away from the dead body. McGee takes a stand beside him and Ziva eyes the surrounding area with a frown. Luke rubs the back of his neck awkwardly as he stands beside Gibbs. “Everyone keeps staring at me” He mumbles quietly, ducking his head.

Gibbs throws his flashlight at Dinozzo who instantly catches it. He then grabs a NCIS cap off from one of the medical examiners, the one with the camera. “Hey!” The crouched man exclaims, eyes widening behind his spectacles.

Gibbs sends him a narrow eyed look and the other man shuts his mouth with an audible click. With a roll of his blue eyes, Gibbs forces the NCIS cap down on Luke’s head who yelps in response.

Luke’s hand flies to his head as he blinks up at Gibbs. “Thanks” He murmurs as he fixes the cap on his head properly. Gibbs merely shifts his gaze away.

“Ah, and who's this young man Gibbs?” The other medical examiner questions as he lifts his head up. He's old and he smiles warmly at Luke.

“Ducky this is Luke, Luke this is Ducky” Gibbs introduces the two, completely ignoring the other medical examiner who's a lot younger.

Luke only raises his hand in a wave. “Sorry” He apologises to the younger one sheepishly as he touches the NCIS cap on his head again. The male with the camera smiles wryly as he flickers his gaze to Gibbs.

“Alright” Gibbs calls, “Dinozzo, Ziva, scoup the grounds, Luke you go with McGee futhur down the path” Gibbs fires his orders.

“Yes, boss” Dinozzo nods his head as he passes the flashligh to McGee.

Luke stares up at Gibbs. He opens his mouth, closes it, opens it again and then closes it once more. Gibbs stares down at him amused. “You got any questions, Luke?” He asks with a raise of his brows.

“... Are you… I mean… ” Luke fumbles with his words, nose scrunching up cutely.

Ziva grabs another flashlight from her bag and nods into a direction.

“Good luck, Luke!” Dinozzo shouts as he goes after Ziva.

Luke turns on his heels in the direction that Ziva and Dinozzo disappear into. “What?” He asks, voice exasperated. He turns back to Gibbs. “You can't just-”

“I can” Gibbs says, cutting him off. He pats him on the shoulder, “Now go” He urges.

Luke grumbles as he stalks to a waiting McGee. The two then make their way further down the path. Every now and then McGee flashes the light left and right, a squirrel scurries up a tree and something rustlers in the bushes. Luke walks right beside the other male, so their shoulders bump every few seconds.

“So…” McGee trails off, eyes shifting from the path in front of them to the side. “What type of work do you do?” He questions, voice slightly low. “You didn't exactly tell us while you were in the interrogation room.”

Luke huffs a laugh. “You're a federal agent” He points out. “If I told you, you'd have to arrest me” He mutters.

McGee halts in his steps and Luke stops with him, just ahead of him. “... You're not a hitman, right?” McGee narrows his eyes suspiciously, moving his hand in a way where the flashlight shines on the ground and then above them into the looming trees.

Luke shoots him a deadpan look.

“A mercenary?” McGee raises his eyebrows.

Luke stares at him with the same look.

McGee starts walking again and Luke does the same.

“A detective for hire? It would explain how you figured out the information so easily from the last victims pictures” McGee pauses, probably mulling his thoughts over. They walk down the path a bit more. A twig snaps under Luke’s converse and he throws his arms behind his head and intertwines his fingers at the bottom of his scalp.

“You could also be a secret agent working for the CIA or the FBI, considering the fact you didn't react much to the dead body” McGee continues. “Or… You could also be the killer” McGee stops in his steps but Luke keeps on walking until theres a few good paces between them.

He drops his hands and stuffs them back into his hoodies pockets. He tilts his head up, eyes closed and breathes out a white puff of air. “I doubt that” Luke flutters his eyes open and one side of his lips quips up in amusement.

“Huh” McGee huffs. “You remind me off someone, I just can't tell who” He shrugs his shoulders and starts walking again.

“Really?” Luke raises his eyebrows and falls into step with the NCIS agent.

McGee hums in response.

They walk in silence for the next few minutes, until Luke presses his hand against his nose. “What's with this smell?” He asks as he squints his eyes. “What smell?” McGee tilts his head in consideration, his nose twitching as he sniffs the air.

Something falls between the two with a loud ‘squelch’ sound.

“You heard that, right?” McGee asks as they both stop in their steps and face eachother.

“I heard it if you've heard it” Luke shrugs his shoulders awkwardly.

They both pause.

“Why do i feel like there's a dead body above us?” McGee mutters with a put upon sigh.

Luke grabs his hand and turns it at an odd angle where the flashlight shines above them.

“Well”, Luke starts off as he eyes the trees above him. “That's because you're right” He says.

\----

A thick booklet slams against the table right in front of Luke. He stares down at it and then back at the woman who had thrown the thing over to him. She's dressed overly smartly and walks in heels around the table to him like they are tennis shoes. She smiles down at him, brown eyes shining with something akin to mirth. She's ginger and her red hair barely grazes her ears.

“Gibbs tells me you're quite the catch” She says, extending her hand out. “I'm the Director, Jenny Shepard” she introduces herself.

Luke stares at her hand for a total of three second. He then flickers his gaze to Gibbs who's stood by the females desk. He looks…Highly amused.

Luke shakes the woman's hand, if only out of necessity. “I’m Luke” He mumbles, dropping his hand and reading the words printed atop the thick booklet in front of him. It spells ‘NCIS: Written Test’ in plain, black lettering and Luke heaves a suffering sigh.

“You can't be serious” He says, flickering his gaze from the Director to Gibbs and then back to the Director. “You don't even know me” He points out, leaning his chin into the palm of his hand.

Director Shepard laughs lightly. “That's true” she hums, “We really don't know anything about you.” She sits at the edge of the table and her smile widens. “You could be a criminal for all we know” she settles a hand against the booklet and pushes it forward towards Luke.

Luke stares at her with a deadpan look.

“I'm a thief” He articulates dully.

Shepard blinks. “Oh?”

“Mhhm” Luke hums as he pats down his zip up hoodie. He pulls out a watch, “this is McGee’s watch” he says as he lays the watch down onto the table. He pulls out another item. “This is Ziva’s bracelet and… These are Dinozzo’s sunglasses” Luke says as he puts them on. They're tinted in a nice shade of blue. He leans back into his chair with a bored look.

“Are we done? Can I leave now?” He clips.

“Is your hair dyed black?” Director Shepard asks as she reaches out a hand and ruffles his hair. “You're adorable” She coos.

Luke blinks.

“What?” He breathes out.

Gibbs laughs from where he's standing.

Luke nudges Shepards hand away from his hair and the female relents.

She does, however, grin sharply down at him. “It’s cute how you think you can just walk out of this building without becoming an NCIS agent”. She leans forward and her grin sharpens. “Do the test, Luke.”

“...fine”

\----

Two and a half hours later, Luke is sat in Gibbs’s seat in the bullpen. He's restlessly tapping a pen against the desk and Dinozzo, Ziva and McGee keep eyeing him from all sides.

The three agents match their gazes every now and then as if they're silently questioning and answering each other.

Luke chews on his bottom lip, greyish-blue eyes flying around the bullpen in search of Gibbs. He was supposed to be down here an hour ago. With a heavy sigh, Luke drops the pen and instead restlessly taps his foot against the carpeted floor. He tilts his head back and scowls up at Jenny Shepard who watches him like a hawk from the upper floor. She's leaning against the railings and she smirks down at him like a shark.

Luke instantly turns his gaze away and glares in the direction of the elevator. His bottom lip juts out into a pout as he grabs the pen and starts tapping it against the desk in the same speedy rhythm as his foot.

“Well if that isn't annoying, Sherlock” Dinozzo voices as he leans his chin into the palm of his hand and smiles sarcastically at Luke across from where he's sat.

“I really don't feel like caring right now, Agent Dinozzo” Luke quips as he keeps tapping the pen and his foot.

Ziva smiles as she types away at her computer. McGee huffs a small laugh opposite Luke, but Dinozzo’s smile drops into a thin line.

The elevator doors ping open and Gibbs steps out. Luke scrambles out of the seat he's sat in and hurries towards Gibbs. “Well?” He asks, wringing his fingers together in front of his chest as halts to a stop. Gibbs stares down at him with one side of his lips lifted up into a half smile. “For someone who was so reluctant to join, you sure do look tense” He quips as he slams a booklet into Luke’s chest and luke grips in tightly. While Gibbs strolls to his desk and takes a seat, Luke lifts the booklet off his chest.

He stares at it for a few seconds.

He opens his mouth, closes it and opens it again. He turns around on his heels with furrowed brows. “What's this supposed to mean?” Luke questions, waving the booklet into the air.

Gibbs stares at him across the bullpen. “It means you got a full score” He states, “And that you should be here tomorrow morning at 0080 sharp for a physical assessment.”

“What?” Luke expasarates.

Gibbs smiles, it looks more like a a smirk than anything else. “Dinozzo will give you a ride home” He says and turns to his computer.

“I will?” Dinozzo asks, confusion clear in his voice.

Gibbs glares at him from where he's sat.

“I mean”, Dinozzo hurries to stand as he grabs his coat, “I will” He averts his gaze to Luke who's standing at the side with an adorable, angry pout at his lips. Dinozzo grins. “Alright, pretty boy” He teases as he swings his coat over his shoulders and nods his chin towards the elevator.

Luke flushes a deep pink. “Pretty boy?” He mutters, nose scrunching up.

Dinozzo ignores the question at hand and moves towards the elevator, Luke follows after him with a put upon sigh. “I don't even know what I don't know” He mumbles quietly.

The elevator doors ping open and the two males step inside.

Dinozzo presses a button and the doors close.

“Thats a common accurance down here at the NCIS” He smiles joyfully.

Luke sends him a deadpan look.

"Well, screw the NCIS"

••••  
_**2660 words//unedited**_

_**Sighs-** _

_**Are people even reading this? I honestly feel like I should just delete this whole thing-** _

_**Idk.** _

_**I also believe Luke should return the items he stole but I also believe that Gibbs thinks he should keep them for a** _ _**while-** _


	3. Chapter 3

 

**_C_ ** **_hapter Three:_ ** _❝What about Kitten?❞_

Agent Dinozzo, McGee and David all stare at Luke with the same look. They're in the bullpen, standing in the middle between their desks.

David arches a brow, Dinozzo crosses his arms over his chest and McGee purses his lips.

Gibbs is sat at his desk, quietly sipping at his drink as he looks them over with amused filled eyes.

It's 06:45am, Luke is dressed in a pair of ripped black jeans and an oversized, yellow, pullover hoodie. It's bright, it's disgusting and it's catching everyone's attention. The twenty-two year old heaves a sigh, rolls his eyes and pointedly looks over to Gibbs who smotheres a laugh into his coffee.

 _“When”_ Ziva asserts, more than asks.

 _“How”_ Dinozzo says in the same tone.

McGee only narrows his eyes into a glare.

Luke shifts his gaze to the upper floor, Director Shepard is leaning against the railings with a not-so-innocent smile. He scowls and turns back to the three agents standing around him in a semicircle.

Luke was supposed to be here at eight o'clock sharp, but Gibbs had rolled up to his tiny apartment, knocked on his door and told him to hurry up. He then proceeded to drag him over to NCIS.

And that's where he was now.

Luke shuffles through the front and back pockets of his black jeans. He pulls out a nice bracelet and holds it out with half lided eyes. “I stole this from Agent David when I _“stumbled”_ and she caught me yesterday” Luke explains as he passes the bracelet back to its owner. He then holds out a wrist watch. “I stole this from Agent McGee when I grabbed his wrist to the turn the flashlights upwards so we could see the latest victim” Luke pauses as McGee quickly snatches the watch out of his hand and wraps it around his wrist. “And finally” Luke pats the large front pocket of his oversized yellow hoodie and pulls out a pair of blue tinted sunglasses. “These are hideous” He says in a serious tone.

Agent Dinozzo snatches them out of his hands quicker than McGee had snatched his watch back. “Then why’d you steal them?” Dinozzo grumbles with a scowl. He's overlooking his precious sunglasses with narrowed eyes.

Luke ignores his question and instead claps his hands together. “Unfortunately” He says, lips pursing. “I've grown attached to these items and they will be disappearing from your person in the next two to three working days” He shrugs his shoulders in a nonchalant way.

It's silent for an odd moment. The three Agents all stare at him the same unreadable expression.

And then thay all simultaneously hit his head at odd angles.

“Hey!” Luke yelps as his hands fly to his head.

“That was the group Gibbs slap” Dinozzo says as he smoothly places his sunglasses on. He grins brightly. “You'll be getting a lot of those, trust me.”

\----

Luke stretches his arms above his head. He's outside, the sun is shining brightly and the wind breezes by softly. He flickers his gaze around his surroundings, he's behind the NCIS building - there's a obstacle course built on top off the random sprouts of grass, mud and the hard, stone ground. There's a wooden climbing fence, a small run about and what look like several objects that he's supposed to run on, avoid and jump over. There's even something that looks like monkey bars and a crawling section.

Luke stares at it wryly.

And then looks down at his obnoxious yellow hoodie.

He pulls it off in one swift movement and places it on the grass beside him. He's left in his plain black tee, his ripped jeans and his battered converse.

It's safe to say he can do this.

Someone jogs up beside him. It's Agent Dinozzo.

“You think you can do it, squirt?” He asks with a large grin. Luke smiles back, if only lightly. “Pretty sure I can, Dinozzo” He replies quietly in a mumble. Dinozzo claps his shoulder and points to the side. “Good, because the whole team and Director are watching you” He laughs as Luke follows his gaze and true to Dinozzo’s words, the whole of team Gibbs and the Director are watching him from not too far away.

Luke rubs the back of his neck awkwardly.

“What about your case?” He asks, ducking his head.

“We wrapped that up after I dropped you off” Dinozzo explains as he pulls out a timer out of the pockets of his slacks. “Alright, so as soon as you're ready tell me and I'll yell for you to start. After you run the course down, you have to run it back up here” Dinozzo shifts on his feet, green eyes taking in the way Luke nibbles on his bottom lip.

Dinozzo smirks. “Something on your mind, pretty boy?”

Luke’s cheeks turn a nice pink as he puffs them out in annoyance. “What is it with you and all these nicknames?” He grumbles annoyed.

With a laugh, Dinozzo shakes his head. “I can come up with a lot more, sweet cheeks” He teases. “For example” The Agent pauses dramatically and stares down at Luke with a mischievous glint in his green eyes. “I could call you cutie, darling, honey, sweetie-” He smirks widely as Luke’s cheeks turn a bright red, greyish-blue eyes going slightly wide. “Or even bambi, angel, maybe something like sunshine-” Luke coveres his face with his hands, but Dinozzo can still see the tips of his ears turning red. “What about-” He halts in his words as a familiar stinging sensation sears across the back of his head and his ears start lightly ringing. Dinozzo looks at his boss who now stands beside him with a large scowl. Dinozzo rubs the back of his head, “Thanks boss” He mutters a little sheepishly, the Gibbs slap bringing him back to his work self.

“Is it done? Did you kill him?” Luke asks, voice muffled behind his hands.

“Unfortunately, I didn't” Gibbs quips. “Too many witnesses” He says as Luke uncovers his face. His cheeks are still blushing hotly and Dinozzo grins down at him.

“You ready?” Gibbs asks with a pointed look towards the obstacle course. “Mhhm” Luke nods his head, ignoring the way Dinozzo stares down at him. “I’m ready” the youngest of the three reassures.

“Well then get to it” Gibbs motions with a hand.

Luke grins slightly and walks with Dinozzo to the start line - someone had painted a thick, white line of paint over a small area of grass.

“What about Kitten?” Dinozzo murmurs, leaning slightly lower to murmur his words to Luke.

“Shut up, or I'll punch you” Luke threatens in the same tone, the red across his cheeks spreading lower to his neck as he gets into position. He angrily pouts as he keeps his eyes pinned ahead of him.

Dinozzo stands a step beside him, one hand held out with a timer and the other stuffed in his pockets. “Ooooh” He drags on, “You liked that didn't you?” He smirks, green eyes glinting dangerously.

Luke sighs long and suffering. “Yes, Dinozzo-” He cuts himself off with another sigh, this one is more dramatic, “I like being called Kitten, it sounds nice coming from you” He answers half truthfully and half teasingly.

Dinozzo blinks down at him owlishly, obviously caught off guard.

With a grin, Luke taps the timer in Dinozzo’s hand so it starts counting and dahses off into a run. Dinozzo stares after him with a mildly confused look. He swivels his head back to Gibbs who's stood a few paces back. “Did you hear that?” He questions, voice bewildered.

Gibbs only rolls his eyes at him.

\----

Luke holds the basic 9mm gun in his hands and points it towards the far outline of a paper-plastic human. He's in the gun range this time. His yellow hoodie is tied around his waist, there are speckles of mud and dirt across his jeans and his shirt. Someone readjusts the mufflers on his ears, it's Agent David. She has a pair as well.

Director Shepard is stood behind them leaning against the wall with a sheet of paper in her hands, she's flickering her eyes over Luke’s scores from both the written and physical examination. He had passed the written examination with flying colours and he had finished the physical examination in under three minutes, which was above average for someone working at the NCIS. Their bare average was under four and a half minutes. With a smirk, she returns back to watching Agent Ziva David adjust the way Luke is standing.

With a sigh, Luke spreads his feet apart and holds the gun with both hands. Agent David raises his gun a bit higher and then motions for him to pull the trigger with a nod of her head.

Luke shoots. Once, twice, thrice, four times, five times, six times and then stops. His fingers are tingling and his palms feel unbearably sweaty, with how many shots he's fired he's been slightly pushed backwards. Luke lowers his gun and places is onto the counter in front of him. Ziva presses a button at the side that pulls the paper-plastic outline of a human towards them and Luke lowers his mufflers around his neck.

The closer the sheet of paper-plastic gets towards them, the larger Luke’s scowl gets.

The shots he fired are, unfortunately, close to perfect. There's one straight in the middle of where the human head would usually be, there's two in the chest - one just below the ribs and one in the middle of the ribs - there's a hole in where the humans right collarbone would be and there's a matching one right on the left. The last one, ironically, is where a male's anatomy would be.

Agent David smiles widely. “I approve” she says as she pats him on the shoulder like a proud older sister. Luke smiles wryly up at her - he was actually trying to miss.

The door to the side opens and Agent Dinozzo walks in with a loud whistle. “Wow” He mutters lowly as he takes a stand on Luke’s other side, the one where David isn't. He eyes the paper-plastic cutout with a concerned expression. Dinozzo blatantly covers his crotch area by clasping his hands together in front of it.

“You must have been angry” Dinozzo jokes.

“I was actually thinking about you” Luke responds swiftly, one side of his lips turning up into a quip.

David actually snickers.

\----

“What's nougat?” Luke mumbles as peers up at Gibbs with furrowed brows. They're standing in front of the vending machine at the side from the elevator.

Gibbs blinks down at him.

Luke blinks back up at him.

“You can shoot a gun, sort out a time line of murders from pictures, pass a NCIS examination, but you don't know what nougat is?” Gibbs exexasperates.

“I like watching crime movies” Luke responds, “And they don't really talk about nougat in there.”

Agent David walks around the corner with the same expression as Luke. “What is this nougat?” she asks with a raised brow.

Gibbs sighs. It sounds annoyed yet fond at the same time. He presses in the code for two nougat bars and then places in a five dollar bill. The two items in question drop to the bottom and Gibbs pulls them out. He then holds them out towards Luke and Agent David.

“Eat it and you'll find out” Gibbs says with a small smile.

“Thanks” Luke mutters as he and David grab a bar each. They open them simultaneously and bite into their bars at the same time.

There's a pause.

And then they both humm in delight.

“It’s good” Agent David murmurs and Luke nods his head in agreement. “It's really good” He agrees.

Gibbs ruffles Luke’s and David's hair both in an affectionate gesture. While Luke leans into the touch with a pleasing sound in the back of his throat, Agent David grins.

“This is the first time you haven't slapped the back of my head” the female points out.

“Don't get used to it” Gibbs mutters, the look in his eyes saying he's amused.

“And you” Gibbs says, flickering his gaze to Luke, “Should go to the Directors office, she's waiting for you.”

Luke scrunches up his nose. “She's scary” He murmurs. “She reminds me of one of those sharks you see on documentaries.”

Gibba laughs good naturedly and ducks his head in a way that looks awfully similar to the way Luke does it.

Agent David stares at the both of them with an odd look, the nougat bar hanging out of her lips at an odd angle.

\----

Jenny Shepard motions for Luke to take a seat on the other side of her desk and he does. The red haired woman stares at him with her chin leaned into the palm of her hand. She smiles sweetly at him and Luke shifts in his seat to get a little bit more comfortable.

“You passed with flying colours” The Director states, eyes taking in the way Luke rubs the back of his neck - a weird habit he seemed to have.

“Full score on the written examination, finished the standard training course in under three minutes and you even managed to get a perfect clearance in the gun range” The redhead softly utters her words as she leans back in her chair, nails tapping against the armrests as she eyes Luke with something akin to mirth mixed in with proudness dancing in her eyes.

“You remind me a lot of your father” she says, voice endearing.

Luke snaps his gaze up to meet the Directors. “You knew my dad?” He asks, voice slightly hesitant but filled with a weary uneasiness.

Shepard huffs a small laugh. “I still do” she grumbles with a roll of her eyes. “He only found out about you a few days ago” she says, noticing the way Luke chews on his bottom lip and the way he furrows his brows in confusion. The sun shines in from one of the windows and his black hair lights up fiery red in random places.

“I have questions” Luke admits. “But I also know you won't answer them.”

The NCIS Director nods her head and shifts her gaze towards the side. “He said he'd tell you himself, unfortunately I'm not allowed to tell you any further information” she looks back at him with an apologetic glance.

Shrugging his shoulders, Luke sighs deeply through his nose. “Eh, whatever. I'll deal with it later” He says, dismissing the topic at hand.

Shepard huffs another laugh. She shuffles through a few papers at the side of her desk and passes another booklet towards Luke.

“This is an agreement form” Shepard explains as she places a pen on top the booklet. “Read through it and sign it if you'd like” she leans back into her chair and folds her arms across her chest.

“You say it like I have a choice” Luke grumbles as he grabs the pen. He flips right to the last few pages and scribbles his name wherever its needed.

The Director grins at him all shark like. 

“Welcome to NCIS, Special Agent Luke”.

••••

**2556 words//unedited**

**Kinda a filler, but like-**

**It's still an update so??**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four:** **❝You gonna move, kitten?❞**

Luke rolls his eyes for the seventh time this morning. He's in a small room thats nicely furnished, there's a sofa, a love seat, a small flat TV and a low coffee table. The wallpaper is nice, warm beige yellowy-white. He leans further into the deep blue sofa he's sat on and sighs deeply through his nose.

There's a woman sat diagonally from him on the love seat, she's dressed smartly and her blonde hair is pulled back into a bun. She eyes him with calculating eyes.

“Mr Luke, this is a psychological evaluation and you've yet to answer any of my questions” she points out, words evenly paced. Tilting her head to the side, she taps her pen onto her clipboard, once, twice, thrice.

Luke plays with a loose thread on his plain, grey, pullover hoodie and leans his chin into the palm of his other hand over the side of the sofa. He flickers his gaze around the room and then stares at the woman. _What was her name?_ He couldn't remember. _Maybe it was something like Kathy? Katey? Kaitlin?_ He muses to himself internally.

“Prehaps I should ask more personal questions” The woman states as she shifts in her seat. She crosses one leg over the other and leans forward. “Was your time at the orphanage difficult?” she questions.

Luke snorts. “I can shoot a gun but I didn't know what nougat was until yesterday, you tell me” He grumbles, clearly annoyed.

There's silence for a full minute before the psychologist taps her pen against her clipboard in the same three beats again. “I see” she says. “Have you had any form of education?” she asks.

“No” Luke replies flatly. His greyish-blue eyes wander over the room again. _Maybe it was Karen?_ He thinks. _She seems like a Karen._

“But you've managed to get a full score on the written examination here at NCIS” The woman points out once again as she purses her lips.

Luke eyes a plant beside the only door in this room. It's one of those large leaf filled ones. “I like reading” He mutters.

There's a pause.

“Can you tell me what nine times nine is?”

“Eighty-one” Luke replies instantly.

The woman hums.

“Eighty-one times eighty-one?”

“Six-thousand, five-hundred and sixty-one” Luke shifts his gaze to the woman not missing a beat.

She blinks at him.

“Five-hundred and thirty times six-hundred and fourty-five?”

Law blinks back at her.

“Three-hundred and forty-one thousand, eight-hundred and fifty”

Another pause.

The woman then smiles at him.

“How many plants are there in the bullpen outside?” She questions as she settles her pen and clipboard onto the coffee table.

“Two” Luke answers as he remembers Gibbs grumbling about the plants always getting in his way.

“Alright” The woman shifts and stands to her feet. She brushes imaginary dust of her suit jacket and walks towards the door, her heels click after her. She opens the door, “You can leave now” she says. “I'll tell the Director your results.”

Luke shrugs his shoulders and leaves without so much as a ‘bye’. He's done with all these tests.

\----

Ducky shifts Luke’s head a little lower and then mumbles a few numbers. They're down in the morgue. Palmer is scribbling things down onto a clipboard behind the two and every so often he cracks a joke - he had introduced himself as soon as Luke had came down for a minor physical examination.

“Five-foot six, you're shorter than you're supposed to be” Ducky hums as he reads the rest of the numbers above Luke’s head. He's getting his height measured. “I've heard that a few times” Luke mumbles as Dukcy steps away with a slight frown.

“Weight?” Dukcy asks as he grabs a pair of gloves from a steel cabinet and pulls them on.

Palmer roams his eyes over the clipboard in his hands. “Fifty-two kilograms, so about eight point one stone” He says.

Luke rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. He was short and underweight. He averts eye contact and instead stares at one of the walls as if they're the most interesting thing in the world.

The doors to the morgue slide open and Dinozzo pokes his head inside. “Gibbs is looking for you” He says in lou of greeting. He grins widely at Luke.

“Oh thank God” Luke murmurs to himself as he heaves a sigh and stalks towards Dinozzo. He needs to leave before Ducky can even lecture him about his health and ask awkward questions that he really doesn't want to answer.

He grabs Dinozzo by his elbow and drags him towards the elevator without so much as a glance back.

Dinozzo snorts as they get into the elevator and presses the button up to the bullpen. Luke rubs the back of his neck again. He heaves a loud sigh as the elevator doors close shut.

“You gonna let me go now, sweet cheeks?” Dinozzo teases as he looks down at Luke.

Luke blinks back up at him and then lowers his gaze to his hand that is still wrapped around Dinozzo’s elbow. He abruptly pulls his hand away. “Uh” Luke fumbles. “Sorry” He says, averting his gaze to the side.

Dinozzo huffs a laugh and bumps his shoulder against Luke’s. “You can hold on whenever you like, Kitten” He lowers his voice until its something between a whisper and a murmur. He reaches out a hand to presumably hold the youngers own, the elevator doors ‘ping!’ open, Luke makes an adorable squeak sound and swiftly escapes the elevator.

Dinozzo steps out of the elevator with a loud laugh, green eyes trained on the way Luke all but quickly ushers himself into the bullpen.

Luke fights down a blush as he steps into the middle of the desk space for Gibbs’s team. He hears the click of heels and turns his head to the right. The psychologist from earlier is walking towards him. Luke turns his head to the left for escape - Gibbs is coming in that way. Luke swivels his head towards the stairs, Shepard is marching down them and coming his way.

Luke feels anxiety gnaw at him. He feels like a fish caught between several sharks. He runs a hand through his messy black hair, gnaws at his bottom lip with his teeth and turns back towards the elevator - only to bump right into Dinozzo’s chest.

He yelps and stumbles backwards. Dinozzo steadies him with a tight grip on his arm. “Did I scare you off that badly, sunshine?” He asks with a tilt of his head, voice heavily amused. “I-” Luke fumbles for words as he stares up at Agent Dinozzo with wide eyes and flushed cheeks.

“Luke-” Gibbs voices.

“Mr Luke-” That was the psychologist.

“Special Agent Luke-” That was the Directors voice.

Luke whines. He really doesn't want to turn around. “Save me” He mutters to Dinozzo who all but grins and turns the younger male around by his shoulders.

Jenny Shepard smiles sharply at him. Gibbs is glaring at Dinozzo. The Psychologist is tapping her foot against the floor. One, two, three she taps. They're all holding several files in their hands.

Luke smiles wryly.

“Yes?” He asks as he steps back into Dinozzo’s chest. He really can't bring himself to care about that right now. If anything, the contact eases some of his anxiety.

The psychologist woman steps forward and thrusts about four, thick files into his hands. “Those are cold cases you need to go over” she says. Luke holds them flat out, albeit a bit awkwardly. Shepard drops on another few files, these are thinner. “These are current cases that other teams need help on” she explains, grin somehow turning sharper. And last but not least, Gibbs places one single file onto the pile. “That” He says, “is _our_ current case.”

None of them look sad about it, in fact, the three sharks are all looking at him with amusement flickering in their eyes.

Luke’s wry smile drops. He sighs through his nose and ducks his head. “I'll get right to it” He mumbles. He obviously couldn't win with these people.

“Good” The three sharks chorus together and then eye each other with narrowed eyes. They then disperse and disappear where ever they came from.

Luke watches them all leave with pursed lips.

“You gonna move, kitten?” Dinozzo breathes hotly against the back of Luke’s neck. "We're out in the open, anyone could see us."

Luke makes an adorable squeak sound and jumps forward, he turns around with red cheeks and manages to swat Dinozzo over the chest without the files in his arms dropping.

“Do I even ask?” Agent McGee questions as he walks into the bullpen.

Dinozzo wiggles his eyebrows suggestively down at Luke who puffs his cheeks out in defiance.

He tells Dinozzo to _stuff it_ and leaves out the bullpen.

Dinozzo stares after him with a small, close lipped grin.

\----

Later that night, when team Gibbs return to the bullpen after inquiring about another lead - they're all met with the sight of Luke… who's sat in Dinozzo’s seat. He's asleep, head rested in the crooks of his elbows on the desk and there are numerous files opened around him, underneath his arms and against the computer. There are different coloured pens thrown across the desk and on the floor beside it.

Gibbs manages something between a scoff and a laugh and takes a seat at his desk.

“He looks cute” Agent David comments as she quietly places her bag done on the floor beside her own desk. She then takes a seat and turns her computer on.

McGee follows their lead while Dinozzo stands at the front of their shared space in the bullpen. He clutches the strap of his backpack and stares at Luke with an unreadable expression. He tilts his head. “Huh” He breathes out.

“You gonna wake up him?” McGee questions as he turns his own computer on.

Gibbs eyes Dinozzo, sharp blue eyes flickering across his SFA’s face.

Dinozzo walks towards his desk and stops in front of it. He pauses. After a second of consideration he crouches down and leans across the desk until his face is mere centimetres away from Luke’s.

“Tony” Ziva warns.

Dinozzo ignores her.

Luke has long eyelashes that touch his cheeks and there are tiny, barely noticeable freckles across the bridge of his nose and across his cheeks. _Damn it. He really is cute._ Dinozzo mulls internally.

He stands back to his original height. “I'm gonna borrow one of Abby’s computers” He says with a shrug of his shoulders.

Gibbs nods at him, McGee shrugs his own shoulders but David sends him with of her narrowed eyed looks that spell out trouble.

Dinozzo collectively ignores all three of them and heads down into the lab.

“Dinozzo” Gibbs calls sternly.

The man in questions halts in his steps and turns around. “Yes, Boss?” He raises an eyebrow.

Gibbs stares at him across the bullpen with calculating blue eyes. His lips quip into a half smile. “Rule twelve” is all he says.

Dinozzo’s eyes flicker towards the sleeping form of Luke and then back to his boss. _Never date a coworker._ He nods his head in understanding and turns on his heels to start walking again.

“Dinozzo” Gibbs calls again, this time his voice isn't asserting, but more amused.

And like the loyal Saint Bernard that he is, Dinozzo turns back around to his boss. He raises one eyebrow in question once more.

Gibbs leans his chin into the palm of his hand on his desk. One side of his lips stretches out more than the other, he looks pointedly over at Luke and then back at Dinozzo. He's… smiling.

Dinozzo stands, slightly caught off guard. “Right” He says and smacks the back of his head the same way Gibbs would do.

He got the message.

He knew what his boss was saying.

_Do it, just don't be obvious about it._

Dinozzo could do that.

With a grin, he leaves for the lab.

If anything, he'll have something to talk about with Abby.

••••

**_2042 words//unedited_ **

**_Sorry for the short chapter ://_ **


	5. Chapter 5

 

 ** _Chapter Five:_** **❝Why would I be jealous?❞**

 

Luke flickers his gaze all around the small motel room from where he's standing between the door. Drawers lay flung open, papers are scattered everywhere, the mini circular table underneath the window is thrown on its side and a body sits against the foot of the double bed on the carpeted floor.

It's a male with broad shoulders, chalky skin and dark hair. There's blood - everywhere. On the walls, on the ceiling, across the bed, it trails randomly against the carpeted floor and forms a large pool under the victims body. There's a blood-free path leading from the door towards the body.

NCIS workers are all inside and they're fumbling around, taking pictures and muttering to each other. Dinozzo is talking to Gibbs, McGee is pointing at something in the corner and Ziva is eyeing everything with narrowed eyes full of suspicion.

Luke stuffs his hands into the pockets of his black hoodie and takes a step back into the hallway. He leans against one of the walls and breathes in deeply.

He's seen a scene like that before. It looks exactly the same as it had the last time.

Luke screws his eyes tight shit.

He thinks he might know who the murderer even is.

\----

With a heavy sigh, Luke places the last of the current case files onto Balboa’s desk.

Balboa flashes him a grin of appreciation. “Thanks, kid” He says, pausing mid type on his computer. He's tall, has dimples and messy dark hair.

Luke smiles at the older man. “You're welcome” He replies and then turns and walks back to his own little space with his own little desk.

It's on the other side to Gibb’s own team; over the sorry excuse they have for a half plastic wall - which means Luke is constantly stuck between Gibbs' team and Balboa’s team.

He falls into his chair and holds his head in his hands. He still has a few cold cases to go through and there's a new team that needs some help.

Luke runs a hand through his black hair and leans back into his chair. He flickers his gaze across the bullpen. Balboa and his two other agents are working on an alleyway marine killer who hunts at clubs - the new team, Luke really can't remember their names, are working on a case that involves petty officers getting their bodies sliced in half. And Gibbs… is working on the massacre murder. The one that Luke wasn't even able to step into without old memories resurfacing to the front of his mind.

He sighs again and tips his head back against the top of his chair. He pushes his converse cladded feet against the carpeted floor and tips his chair back until he's balancing on the two back legs. It's hard, considering the fact it's not a normal chair but one of those spinning ones with too many legs.

Once he's balancing properly at an odd but stable angle, Luke stares at the ceiling. We'll, parts of it. Most of the ceiling is split into giant windows and there's always constant light coming in.

Luke narrows his greyish-blue eyes at the few stray clouds that lazily move against the deep, blue sky. Such a nice day. With such horrendous deeds done.

He can feel someone staring at him - Balboa no doubt. Luke pretends he doesn't notice and instead places one arm behind his head.

He watches the clouds for a few silent moments. One minute passes. Two minutes pass. Three minutes pass. Luke purses his lips when Balboa doesn't stop staring at him. Why was the man looking at him?

Someone steps around his desk and waves a nougat bar above his face.

Luke blinks.

“C’mon Kitten” Dinozzo’s voice is loud enough to be heard across half the bullpen. He sounds annoyed.

Luke falls forward, the rest of the chairs legs hit against the carpeted floor with a quiet ‘thump’. He stares at Dinozzo who's scowling, green eyes slightly narrowed and jaw ticking.

 _Wonder what's wrong with him?_ Luke ponders internally.

Some of the other agents send them weird looks. Luke can see how Balboa furrows his eyebrows and leans his chin into the palm of his hand.

He's watching them.

Luke turns his gaze back to Dinozzo who clenches his jaw. He waves the nougat bar at Luke. “Get up” He says and juts his chin into the direction of the elevator, “And take some work with you.”

Tilting his head to the side, Luke stares up at Dinozzo with confusion. _Is he mad? Did I do something wrong?_ He mulls over his thoughts and grabs a few random cold case files. When Dinozzo starts moving towards the elevator, Luke hurries after him whilst he clutches his files to his chest.

He stands awkwardly beside the Agent and watches as the older male presses two buttons at the side. The first one was for the floor and the second one was to close the doors.

Apparently they were going down - maybe into the lab? Luke wasn't sure. He hadn't been on that floor before.

The doors to the elevator slide closed and Dinozzo holds out the nougat bar with a deep frown.

Luke blinks up at the man and timidly takes the bar and holds it to his chest the same way he holds his files. “Thanks” he says, voice quiet. The tips of his ears turn slightly red as he turns his gaze down to his beaten up converse.

It's silent for an odd moment.

Then Dinozzo sighs deeply. “Don't sit like that again” He utters, tone low.

Luke turns his gaze from his converse back up to Dinozzo who's glaring at the double doors in front of them.

There's a pause.

Luke hesitates and chews on his bottom lip softly. “Okay” he breathes out. He sounds small, unsure - confused.

But Dinozzo nods his head.

\----

Abby bobs her head up and down to the beat of a new song from death vamp. She tinkers with her computer, fingers sliding across her keyboard with manic but practiced speed. Her eyes flicker across her monitor taking more and more information in as she goes on.

She hears the sound of the glass-like double doors sliding open and grabs her remote and lowers the volume of her new favourite song.

She turns around on her heels with a grin and then pauses. She was expecting Gibbs.. Looks like she's getting Tony who looks pleasantly annoyed and…

“Oh, my, God!” Abby squeals as she jumps forward towards the new member of Team Gibbs. He's small, has messy black hair that looks dark red in odd places and greyish-blue eyes that looks eerily similar to Gibbs's own. He's clutching several files and one single nougat bar tightly against his chest. He looks so adorable, Abby feels like squishing him but she holds herself back.

“You're so cute!” she gushes.

“Uhm…” the young male in question fumbles as he ducks his head, cheeks turning pink.

Tony smiles slightly at that.

“Luke, this is Abby, Abby this is Luke” He introduces the two to each other.

“Nice to meet you” Luke murmurs quietly, shifting his gaze towards the side.

Abby grins widely. “What brings you two down here?” she asks. She turns to Tony and wiggles her eyebrows suggestively - if Tony needed some special time with Luke, she'd let them cuddle in the lab for a while.

Tony huffs a laugh and places his hand on Luke’s shoulder. “Can you babysit him for a while?”

Luke snaps his gaze up and opens his mouth to protest, but before he can even say anything Abby clasps her hand together loudly. “Of course!” She exclaims excitedly. She motions with a hand towards the side, there's a chair pressed against a small desk in one corner. “You can sit and do all your work there” she explains.

\----

Luke stares up at Agent Dinozzo until the man in question looks down at him.

Luke whines.

And Dinozzo crumbles.

“I'll come back for you later” He murmurs when Abby turns back to her computer - she's pretending to be working, but she's obviously listening in on their conversation.

Dinozzo grabs Luke by his shoulders and pulls him and himself to the side, a few more steps away from Abby.

“Why can't I be upstairs?” Luke mutters quietly in question, confusion clear in his voice.

Dinozzo pauses and runs a hand over his face. _Damn it, he's too cute._

He drops his hands back down to his sides and watches as Luke nibbles on his bottom lip. Dinozzo turns his gaze abruptly to the side - he's dated women before. Hot women. Who had bodies like goddesses and looked like Victoria's secret models. But Luke - Luke is scrawny, and _so, so, so_ , cute and his face is _so_ pretty and whenever he blushes he looks so _fucked_ out-

Dinozzo just really wants him. Whatever that means.

Running a hand through his hair, Dinozzo turns his gaze back to Luke who's still staring up at him, awaiting an answer.

“Are you… Jealous?” Luke leans forward and whispers the last word. He juts his bottom lip out cutely.

Dinozzo feels like kissing him right there and then.

Instead he shakes his head. “What?” he asks. “No” He denies. “Why would I be jealous?” He grumbles.

Abby snorts from where she's standing.

Dinozzo glares at the back of her head and then turns back to Luke.

“Because” Luke starts. His voice is soft. “ _He_ was staring at me” He says.

Dinozzo clenches his jaw. “I'm not jealous of _him_ ” he scowls.

“Then why are you mad?”

“I'm not mad.”

Luke tightens the grip on his files more tightly and presses them even closer into his chest.

He ducks his head. “I don't understand” he mumbles.

Dinozzo opens his mouth, he's about to apologise-

“You really don't have anything to be jealous about… ” Luke trails off as he ducks his head even more. The tips of his ears are a bright red.

“Oh” is all Dinozzo can say.

He raises a hand and pets the top of Luke’s head who in turn turns his head and nuzzles into his hand, cheeks flushed pink.

Dinozzo smirks. “Be good for Abby” He teases.

“Okay” Luke replies, the corners of his mouth turning up into a small smile.

Agent Dinozzo returns the smile and lowers his hand and cups Luke’s cheek. He rubs a thumb over the soft skin there and watches in fascination as Luke’s blush darkens even more.

“It's quiet. Are you two kissing? Should I leave? Do you two need some space?” Abby fires question after question from where she's stood. Her back is still facing towards the two agents.

With a click of his tongue, Dinozzo drops his hand. Luke fumbles, probably looking for something to say, he ducks his head almost instantly.

“I'll see you later, sweet cheeks” Dinozzo murmurs with a grin and then leaves.

Luke stays rooted in the same spot for a few seconds before he shakes his head and moves towards the small desk in the corner. He places all his files down - along with the nougat bar from Agent Dinozzo.

Abby whistles. “Could you two get any more cuter?"

••••

**_1903//unedited_ **

**_It's shorter than the rest of the chapters, but it's a lot more fluffier?? So hopefully that makes up for it._ **

**_THIS IS LITERALLY AU AND DOESN'T FOLLOW THE MAIN STORY LINE - STOP COMPLAINING OR JUST LEAVE. I'VE HAD TO DELETE SO MANY COMMENTS OOF-_ **


	6. Chapter 6

 

 

 **Chapter Six:** **❝C’mon Kitten, there's people watching us❞**

A knock on the door forces Luke out of his sleep. He flutters his eyes open, his surroundings are bleary and he feels hazy. He's stuck between being asleep and being awake. He groans into his pillow, bones stiff as he slumps into a sitting position and swings his feet over the edge of his bed.

It's dark inside his room. The curtains are drawn over the one shabby window he has there. He stumbles to his feet, sways for a second, catches himself on the wall for support and then blindly leaves his room to get into the living room that's connected to a sorry excuse for a kitchen with no wall in between.

Luke trips over something on the carpeted floor - a box - he catches himself midway and then stumbles forward muttering curses under his breath. He reaches the main door and switches on the light. He closes his eyes and groans as the rooms lights up brightly. Sighing, he opens his greyish-blue eyes and flickers them around his surroundings.

Luke’s living room doesn't have much. There's an old, shabby TV forced into a corner, a small square coffee table, there's boxes upon boxes stacked around randomly - cases from over the years that Director Shepshed had sent over. Random coloured cushions decorate the floor in a flurry. A small, square window stays locked closed on that side. You can see the main street out from it. Cabinets are held against the wall on the opposite side, a small fridge sits underneath them, beside it is an old washing machine and after that is a shabby oven. The walls are coloured in a cream white that looks yellow in odd places. Considering the fact Luke is an orphan and always somehow flat out broke - he's doing okay.

Most of the things he does have are from his landlord - this kind but sassy Korean woman who had took him in a while back and gave him a place to stay. She owns the Korean corner store underneath Luke’s apartment.

Another knock on the door brings Luke back to the moment at hand. He grumbles under his breath and opens his door a crack open. He peaks through the crack in the door and scowls.

“Good morning Luke” Agent Ziva David greets cheerfully. She grins down at him, not a speck of tiredness evident on her being. She's dressed smartly for how early she's come.

“There's nothing good about it” Dinozzo grumbles from beside her, he's dressed in a navy pullover hoodie and some sweatpants. He eyes Luke and then grins. “Well, except for one thing” he says. Something dark flashes in his green eyes and David rolls her eyes.

Luke opens the door a little more and rubs his knuckles unto an eye. He yawns loudly. “Wha’?” He murmurs, slightly confused and still in a half asleep state. His black hair is standing up in all directions and he's dressed in that obnoxious yellow, pullover hoodie he had before and black cotton shorts that end just at the top of his knees.

“As cute as you look, we've got another murder. Grab your things, we'll meet you downstairs” Agent David chirps a little too happily. She forces Dinozzo to turn around and go back down the stairs into the store.

Luke leans against the door frame and heaves a tired sigh.

He just wants to sleep in.

\----

Still stumbling, Luke bumps into Dinozzo’s back when the older male stops walking. It's dark outside, a few lampposts light up the area they're in, a motel sign flashes in an obscure green colour in front of them and Dinozzo huffs a small laugh. There are a few NCIS vehicles in sight and agents of all types are walking around with notepads and flashlights.

“‘m’sorry” Luke muffles into Dinozzo’s back, he curls both his fists into the material of the Agents hoodie and nuzzles his face into his back.

Agent David coos at them from behind.

“Shut up” Dinozzo tells off the female as she walks past him.

“C’mon Kitten, there's people watching us” Dinozzo mutters and then sighs quietly.

Luke whines but pulls away. He holds onto Dinozzo’s sleeve instead and follows in the Agents footsteps as he leads them towards a simple dark brown door. It looks like all the other doors located on the outside of the motel that they're at. It doesn't look special at all.

Dinozzo pushes the door open with his elbow and steps into the room, Luke goes in right after him.

It's the same scene as last time. The walls, the ceiling, the floor, every piece of furniture in the room is covered in dark red liquid; blood. A body sits at the foot of the double bed on the carpeted floor. It's another male. His hair is dark, his skin is chalky white and he's sat in a pool of his own blood - hands in his lap, legs outstretched at an odd angle and head rolled to the side. There's a blood-free path going from the door towards the body.

Ducky and Palmer are on each side of the body - Ducky is doing a basic examination process and Palmer is taking quick but precise pictures. Gibbs is stood over them, arms crossed over his chest and a scowl at his lips. He's dressed in a hoodie himself. His grey hair is a mess. David is quietly asking questions to a local police officer at the side. It seems like he was the one who had found the body.

“Hey, Boss” Dinozzo greets as he takes the last few steps towards his Boss. Gibbs nods his head in lou of greeting and flickers his gaze down to Luke who's eyeing the room like something might jump out at him any second. He's pressed into Dinozzo’s side, both hands clasped at the older Agents wrist and his brows are furrowed.

“Something on your mind, Luke?” Gibbs questions with a tilt of his head.

Luke snaps his gaze to Gibbs. He pauses.

“I'm not sure” He answers quietly.

“This reminds me of that one series, you know, the one called Dexter” Dinozzo starts. “He had a case similar to this one, except there was no body. There was just a room full of blood.”

“I believe I've seen that” Ducky pipes up. He pulls a thin, metal like pipe out of the victims chest and holds it in front of his face. “This poor man was killed about a day ago, no more and no less” He says.

Ducky motions with a gloved finger towards the victims wrists. “The small incisions here” - he moves his finger and points to the victims neck - “and here, suggest he was cut precisely to bleed out.”

“Just like the last one” Gibbs points out. He runs a hand down his face and heaves a tired sigh.

While Ducky spurs into storytelling about one of his old cases, Luke shifts in his spot and releases his grip on Dinozzo’s wrist. He instead stuffs his hands into the long pocket of his yellow hoodie and takes a few steps back. He tilts his head back and racks his eyes over the ceiling. It's splattered in blood, just like everything else is.

Tilting his head to the side, Luke blinks owlishly. “It looks weird” He says. He's got that weird feeling at the pit of his stomach - like something or someone is telling him somethings not right.

There's a pause.

“What does?” David asks as she walks towards them.

“I think…” Luke trails off and nibbles on his bottom lip. He blinks up at the ceiling again. “There's something up there.”

\----

“There was another victim inside the ceiling?” McGee questions as he leans against his desk. He looks tired. There are dark circles under his eyes and his hair is all over the place. He had just came back from working on a short case with the new team.

“How'd you figure it out?” McGee asks as he turns his gaze to Luke who's sat on the edge of Gibbs’s desk. He's swinging his legs forward and backwards, forwards and backwards. He's still dressed in his hideous yellow hoodie and his black cotton shorts.

Dinozzo, David and Gibbs stand in front of the screen on their side of the bullpen. There are numerous pictures of petty officers and supposed suspects aligned on the screen.

Luke shrugs his shoulders. “I had a feeling” He says.

McGee narrows his eyes suspiciously. “So like a gut feeling?”

“I guess” Luke replies, his eyes are trained on the way he swings his converse cladded feet. He's paying attention but at the same time he isn't.

He clutches the edge of the desk with his fingers and hums quietly to himself.

While Gibbs orders the team around, Luke thinks back to the case scenes.

They had two scenes. One killer. Same kill.

Both in motel rooms.

But only one of them had one victim. The second scene had two.

“Uh, Boss” McGee calls from his desk. He manoeuvres himself around the desk and towards the rest of his group. He grabs the clicker from David's hand and clicks it so the screen switches to something else.

It's an image of some evidence that they scurged up. Two pieces of the same piece of card. It was torn haphazardly, one piece was drenched in blood and the other was scrunched up and missing bits from the middle of it.

“I searched up some possible places it could be from, hotels, motels, bars and others” McGee pauses as he clicks again. Another image pops up. It's a card, the words ‘W’s Orphanage’ stand clear in formal black writing over it.

“It's from an orphanage” McGee points out.

Luke instantly stops swinging his legs.

••••  
**_1793//unedited_**

**_Alright guys, we're finally getting into some plot._ **

**_Until next time._ **

**_p.s sorry for the short chapter_ ** **_whoops-_ **


	7. Chapter 7

 

**Chapter Seven: ❝They Know❞**

Luke should have seen it coming from a mile away, really. Everything in his brain had just clicked together and the uncomfortable churning in his stomach made it all the more true. He always trusted his gut feeling. And it was always right.

Standing in front of his old orphanage, Luke inhales a steady breath and then slowly exhales it.

He hasn't been here in years and the old, shabby building doesn't look any different. It still has that eery air of silence around it, the ground is bare of any colour or sign of grass or flowers and the building is as bleak as ever.

Luke smiles wryly as Gibbs pats him on the shoulder reassuringly.

Luke doesn't feel reassured at all.

The two move forward pass the broken, painted black gates until they stand at the main door to the building.

Gibbs knocks sharply at the door three times.

Luke swallows back the lump that suddenly forms in the back of his throat.

He doesn't really have any fond memories of this place. He ducks his head and stuffs his hands into the pockets of his black zip up hoodie. He feels uncomfortable being here. He always has.

The main door opens with a creak and a woman steps into full view. Her dark eyes instantly narrow and her lips press together into a thin line. She's old with wrinkles beside her eyes and around her mouth - she's dressed in a traditional black habit dress with a white veil. A silver Cross hangs loosely from her kneck. She's a nun.

She eyes Gibbs for an odd second and then flickers her gaze disapprovingly down at Luke who ducks his head even further.

“He's no longer under my protection anymore” She clips, clearly annoyed.

Gibbs huffs a laugh. “Oh, I'm not here because of him” He says, “I'm here because of you” He smiles. He pulls out his badge and shows it to the woman. “Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS” He introduces himself. Gibbs then places a hand onto Luke’s shoulder, “And this is Special Agent Luke, though by the way you've talked down to him I'm sure you already know him.”

There's a stretch of silence in the air.

Luke hesitantly raises his head and makes eye contact with the nun.

She glares back at him.

Luke ducks his head again.

“I’m the head Sister, Angelica” She says, words almost coming out bitter.

“You can come inside” She smiles coldy and steps to the side, swinging the door more open.

Gibbs and Luke both step inside.

\----

“You'd think we'd have more clues” Dinozzo mutters around a glazed donut.

Agent David sends him a spareful glance across her seat in the bullpen and then flickers her gaze back to her computer. “Your right” she agrees.

McGee taps his fingers restlessly against the top of his desk. “You don't think-”

“Maybe-” Dinozzo cuts him off.

“Gibbs wouldn't-” David cuts him off.

There's a pause.

Dinozzo swallows down the last of his donut. “Alright” He calls and snaps his fingers. “In the middle” He orders.

The three all swivel their chairs around their desks and all meet up in the middle ground between their desks.

“Ok, what do we know?” Agent Dinozzo asks.

“Well, we know that whoever is killing the victims is a professional” McGee states. “And that all the victims are males, around the same age with similar jobs and similar appearances.”

Agent David nods her head. “And that either the victims or the murderer has a connection to W’s Orphanage” she adds on.

“Which brings us to Luke” Dinozzo says, “And the fact that he's connected to the Orphanage… And somehow to Gibbs himself.”

There's an odd pause as they all glance at each other.

“Are you seriously suspecting Luke?” Abby questions as she pops her head over the plastic wall between the bullpens.

McGee let's put a startled yelp. “How did you-”

“We are not suspecting Luke of the murders” Agent Ziva interrups McGee almost skillfully.

“We're just saying, yanno, it's kinda awkward” Dinozzo continues on.

“It's awkward for you” McGee rolls his eyes.

“We are suspecting Gibbs of-”

Dinozzo blinks. “What do you mean awkward for me?” He cuts David off sharply.

“It's awkward for you because you like him, more than you probably should” McGee explains.

“Yes” David agrees with a nod of her head. “You don't want to suspect him or Gibbs, one because you have feelings for him and the other because you see him as a father figure.”

“Not only that, but you get obviously jealous of whenever another guy or girl so much as looks at Luke in, you know, that type of way” Abby pipes up from over the half plastic wall.

“Suspecting Luke for whatever reason is already hard enough for you, but suspecting Gibbs for joining up with Luke is already too much” McGee continues on.

Dinozzo slaps McGee over the head.

McGee yelps and rubs the back of his head with a frown.

“Wait, wait, wait” Abby voices, raising a single hand in the air. She leans over the barrier. “What are you suspecting them off?” she questions in a hushed tone, dark eyes wide with wonder.

There's a pause.

The three Agents all eye Abby with the same look.

“That they're related” They chorus.

Abby raises her brows. “Oh” she breathes out.

“And you know this because…?” She asks with a tilt of her head.

“Well, it's obvious” McGee says. “Same eye colour, same characteristics, same ‘gut feeling’, same laugh-”

“And Luke is naturally ginger under all that black hair dye” David shrugs her shoulders.

“Uhuh” Abby huffs. “I think you've all been watching too many conspiracy videos” she grins.

"Maybe" Dinozzo mumbles, leaning back into his chair. "But at least it's keeping us on our toes, right?"

\----

Abby walks into her lab worrying her bottom lip. Her eyebrows are furrowed as she runs a hand through her black hair.

"This is bad" She says.

She paces in front of her computer for a few minutes before she stops herself. "Okay, Abby, take a deep breath" she tells herself.

She inhales.

And then exhales slowly.

"Okay" she says, fishing out her mobile from her lab coat. She quickly finds Gibbs's phone number and rings him up.

It rings.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice.

And then it clicks.

"Abby?" Gibbs voices from the other side of the phone.

Abby breathes in a big, deep breath again.

"They know" she breathes out.

••••

**AAAAAAAAH-**

**It's literally been a month since I've last updated this, and I've actually wrote this shit chapter in under an hour, so, uh, enjoy?**

**I'm literally just trying so hard to move the main plot line forward, but like, procrastination is my middle name yikes-**

**Also no cute stuff happened this chapter**  
**:((( I'm sorry-**

**~haru**


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